Vertical, a California based company with offices across the United States, has recently announced they’re entering the Hemp and CBD space by creating a new brand; Vertical Wellness. 

Vertical Wellness, pegged with the tagline “unleashing nature’s potential”, will have the backing of the larger Vertical conglomerate, and will therefore have access to all of the research and development that Vertical and its 250 employees have been doing in the space. The announcement is the latest in a string of press releases following the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill by President Trump which legalized that production and sale of industrial hemp in the United States. 

Vertical Wellness, according to their press release, is a company mainly focused around the production and sale of industrial hemp. Vertical began heavily focusing on hemp last year; they recently harvested 100 acres ($20 million worth of the good stuff) and are processing it at their Kentucky facility. The move is an obvious attempt by the company to gain full vertical control of the market. The move to break off Vertical Wellness as a subsidiary will lend itself fortuitously to give both companies access to more investment capital. 

Smoke Wallin (what a name, right??), the newly appointed Vertical Wellness CEO said, “Vertical Wellness aims to build the most dynamic and extensive portfolio of brands and products in hemp and CBD. It’s all about wellness and branding delivered with science at scale.”

At Hemp Crate, we for one are happy to have some veteran players in the space and hope that the increased attention and focus on cultivating better crops at lower costs will ultimately trickle down to cost savings and better quality products for the consumer. 

Canadian company Canopy Growth is expected to dump $100-$150 million into a US hemp cultivation and manufacturing site based in New York, CNBC reports.

Pending board member approval, that is likely to come within 100 days, the Canadian company, whose shares shot up 11% with the announcement, is likely to announce specific sites.

This is an especially poignant case and a big win for the hemp and CBD industry because the company previously had no interest in entering the US market prior to the 2018 Farm Bill. The CEO of the company, Bruce Linton, has been quoted saying that he has no interest in doing business in a company where marijuana is not legal at the federal level. The 2018 Farm Bill proves the United States federal government is making moves in the correct direction.

The company promises to source all of its hemp from American farmers. The company also says it will focus on every part of the hemp plant; from seed to cannabinoids. Below is an excerpt from the press release.

Canopy Growth will establish within the Hemp Industrial Park large-scale production capabilities focused on hemp extraction and product manufacturing within the United States. “Canopy Growth was founded to drive innovation within the cannabis and hemp industries. In New York we see an opportunity to create products that improve people’s lives,” said Bruce Linton, Chairman and Co-CEO, Canopy Growth. “In the process, we will create jobs in an exciting, highly profitable new industry. I applaud the political leadership at the federal and state level that has allowed today’s announcement to become reality.”

The release goes on to describe the specific types of extraction and production that they have planned for the location.

Canopy Growth will source hemp exclusively from American farmers for its American operations once up and running. The Company believes that the Farm Bill has the power to create a thriving new industry with American farmers as the backbone. Canopy Growth can add value by focusing on its areas of expertise, including extracting, processing and formulating cannabinoid-based consumer products and medicines. With the recent passage of the Farm Bill and support of the State of New York, management is confident in a path to market hemp-based cannabinoid products in America.

You can read the full press release from Canopy Growth here.

By now you’ve likely heard the news that the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was passed by Congress and was earlier this month, signed into law by President Trump as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. But what does that really mean for you, the customer?

If you want to read the full bill (be careful though, it’s a thick one) you can find it here. Essentially this bill did a few things:

Removed Hemp from the list of of Schedule 1 Controlled Substances

Declared industrial hemp an agricultural commodity and not a controlled substance

Set the stage for the DEA to reconsider their stance on how hemp and CBD are treated

In short, this bill did more for growers of hemp as opposed to consumers. However, these new opportunities given to farmers will be passed down to the consumers in the form of future cost savings. Hemp farmers are now afforded the same rights as traditional farmers such as riparian water rights and the ability to request federal agricultural grants. These rights can be huge for farmer’s margins in an industry that is traditionally bootstrapped to begin with.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was one of the main proponents of the law as he hopes that hemp can start to replace the demise of Kentucky’s oldest cash crop- tobacco. A healthy, non-addictive, alternative to cigarettes? We’re here for it!